Psalms 137:8

137:8 O daughter Babylon, soon to be devastated! ¹ 

How blessed will be the one who repays you

for what you dished out to us! ² 

Psalms 137:1

Psalm 137 ³ 

137:1 By the rivers of Babylon

we sit down and weep ⁴ 

when we remember Zion.

Psalms 87:4

87:4 I mention Rahab ⁵  and Babylon to my followers. ⁶ 

Here are ⁷  Philistia and Tyre, ⁸  along with Ethiopia. ⁹ 

It is said of them, “This one was born there.” ¹⁰ 

Psalms 137:2

137:2 On the poplars in her midst

we hang our harps,

Psalms 85:1

Psalm 85 ¹¹ 

For the music director; written by the Korahites, a psalm.

85:1 O Lord, you showed favor to your land;

you restored the well-being of Jacob. ¹² 

Psalms 137:7

137:7 Remember, O Lord, what the Edomites did

on the day Jerusalem fell. ¹³ 

They said, “Tear it down, tear it down, ¹⁴ 

right to its very foundation!”

[137:8]  ¹ tn Heb “O devastated daughter of Babylon.” The psalmist dramatically anticipates Babylon’s demise.

[137:8]  ² tn Heb “O the happiness of the one who repays you your wage which you paid to us.”

[137:1]  ³ sn Psalm 137. The Babylonian exiles lament their condition, vow to remain loyal to Jerusalem, and appeal to God for revenge on their enemies.

[137:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “there we sit down, also we weep.”

[87:4]  ⁵ sn “Rahab,” which means “proud one,” is used here as a title for Egypt (see Isa 30:7).

[87:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “to those who know me” (see Ps 36:10). Apparently the Lord speaks here. The verbal construction (the Hiphil of זָכַר, zakhar, “remember” followed by the preposition -לְ [le] with a substantive) is rare, but the prepositional phrase is best understood as indicating the recipient of the announcement (see Jer 4:16). Some take the preposition in the sense of “among” and translate, “among those who know me” (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV). In this case these foreigners are viewed as the Lord’s people and the psalm is interpreted as anticipating a time when all nations will worship the Lord (see Ps 86:9) and be considered citizens of Zion.

[87:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “Look.”

[87:4]  ⁸ map For location see Map1 A2; Map2 G2; Map4 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[87:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “Cush.”

[87:4]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and this one was born there.” The words “It is said of them” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for clarification and stylistic purposes (see v. 5). Those advocating the universalistic interpretation understand “there” as referring to Zion, but it seems more likely that the adverb refers to the nations just mentioned. The foreigners are identified by their native lands.

[85:1]  ⁷ sn Psalm 85. God’s people recall how he forgave their sins in the past, pray that he might now restore them to his favor, and anticipate renewed blessings.

[85:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “you turned with a turning [toward] Jacob.” The Hebrew term שְׁבוּת (shÿvut) is apparently a cognate accusative of שׁוּב (shuv). See Pss 14:7; 53:6.

[137:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “remember, O Lord, against the sons of Edom, the day of Jerusalem.”

[137:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “lay [it] bare, lay [it] bare.”